The men, dual Chinese-British nationals, are believed to be the first people convicted of spying for China ‌in Britain.

Two ‌men, including one who worked as a British immigration officer, ⁠were jailed after being convicted of spying on prominent pro-democracy dissidents now based in the United Kingdom on behalf of Hong Kong, and ⁠ultimately China.

Chung Biu “Bill” Yuen, 66, and Chi Leung “Peter” Wai, 41, who worked for the UK Border Force, were imprisoned on Thursday after being convicted last ⁠month of assisting a foreign intelligence service by carrying out surveillance on targets between December 2023 and May 2024.

They are believed to be the first people to have been convicted of spying for China ‌in the UK.

Wai was also convicted of misusing his Border Force job to search the interior ministry’s computer database for details about targets.

The men, both dual Chinese and British nationals, had denied the accusations, while the Chinese embassy in London said the case was “nothing but a political move of abusing the ⁠law”.

“The United Kingdom now faces persistent, adaptive, ⁠and often clandestine interference by foreign state actors and those acting on their behalf,” the judge, Bobbie Cheema-Grubb, told London’s Old Bailey court.

“Modern foreign intelligence activity is not ⁠confined to orthodox espionage against military or governmental secrets. It may take the form of surveillance, information ⁠gathering, intimidation, and targeting of dissidents and ⁠those who have sought the protection of this country’s laws.”

She jailed Yuen for eight years, while Wai was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

“The activity of Wai ‌and Yuen was truly chilling,” said Commander Helen Flanagan, head of “counter-terrorism” policing in London.

“They were spying and targeting individuals in ‌the ‌UK who were pro-democracy campaigners and were simply protesting against the Hong Kong and Chinese government and authorities.”

Wai and Yuen were arrested after a failed bid to snatch a former Hong Kong resident, Monica Kwong, from her flat in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, on May 1, 2024.